Confident England eye fourth Ashes title in row

SYDNEY: The second leg of an Ashes double-header unique in the 131 years of such contests gets underway in Brisbane on Thursday with everything bar the eternal optimism of the Australian nation pointing to a fourth successive England triumph.

With the dominant 3-0 success on home soil still fresh in the memory, England can justifiably approach a trip Down Under with more confidence than at any time since the 1970s, when World Series cricket tore the heart out of the home side.

The core of an England side unbeaten in tests this year has very happy memories of their last trip in 2010-11, when they hammered Australia 3-1 to win the Ashes on foreign soil for the first time in 24 years.

That feeling has been compounded by the conviction that they won in England with something to spare and their vaunted batting line-up can only do better than they did in the five home tests.

"I think Australia will suit our batsmen a bit more than English conditions," England paceman Stuart Broad said last week.

"We had these sort of slow, turning wickets that are quite hard to score on and we've got guys who cut and pull, free-scoring players, and I think our batsmen are very excited to play here and will thrive in the Australian conditions."

And yet, despite losing seven of their last nine tests and drawing the other two, there is also a growing feeling of confidence in Australia.

The hosts feel the series in England was closer than the scoreline suggested, their batting line-up is more settled than it has been for a while and that if their quick bowlers can fire on the hard home decks, they can really trouble England.

There was little chance that their preparations for the second series could be disrupted as much as those for the first, when coach Mickey Arthur was sacked and opener David Warner was stood down for punching England's Joe Root in a bar.

The excellent bowling performance of Ryan Harris in England was one reason for the growing optimism and the injury-prone paceman articulated the feeling of the Australia camp after the squad was announced for the Gabba.

"It's time we brought the urn home and we know that," he said. "You always have pressure at this level and there is extra after not winning the last few series,” he added.

"But if we play our best cricket we will win. We believe in each other," he said.

Australia have been forced by injury to take a gamble on pace bowler Mitchell Johnson recapturing his best form after four years of erratic performances which have made him the favourite target of England's Barmy Army of fans.

In addition, Harris's fragile frame is unlikely to last the full five tests so Australia will be hoping the recuperation of James Pattinson and Jackson Bird continues to go well.